September 22 Sunday – The New York Times, “Mark Twain Skipper of Rogers’s Yacht,” p.9 reported the Kanawha and Cornelius Vanderbilt’s steam yacht North Star leaving for Jamestown.

The North Star and the Kanawha are expected to arrive back in New York early Thursday morning, and it was rumored yesterday that Mark Twain was anxious to test the speeding qualities of the two vessels on the return journey. Whether Col. Heistand will consent to try conclusions with the Kanawha is another question. The North Star is a larger vessel than the Kanawha, her gross tonnage being 818 tons, while that of Mr. Rogers’s boat is 475 tons. The Kanawha was built at Morris Heights in 1899 and the North Star in England in 1893.

Mark Twain’s participation in the ceremonies will not require very much of his time, it was said yesterday. He had been asked to make a speech at the banquet in Norfolk tomorrow evening, but he declined. Rear Admiral Purnell F. Harrington, retired, U.S.N., is to be one of the speakers at the banquet, and Mr. Clemens agreed to introduce him, as is shown in the letter from his Secretary to Hugh Gordon Miller, who will be the toastmaster at the Fulton banquet